Deployment extension pay to end soon

Dec. 17, 2012 - 07:34AM
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Last Updated: Dec. 17, 2012 - 07:34AM |

Members of Provincial Reconstruction Team Farah arrive at the provincial governor's compound in Afghanistan. Deployment Extension Incentive Pay payments will not be offered to soldiers in units that arrive in Afghanistan on June 1, 2013, or later. (Defense Department)

As the pace of deployments to Afghanistan slows, the Army will keep offering Deployment Extension Incentive Pay to certain categories of enlisted soldiers, for now.

However, the DEIP program, used a few years ago to help the Army phase out stop-loss policies, has been modified to align with the Enlisted Involuntary Early Separation program, which took effect June 1.

Under that program, certain Regular Army enlisted soldiers who elect not to re-enlist or extend to deploy with their unit are subject to involuntary early separation.

Monthly DEIP payments of $500 or $350 have been paid to soldiers who voluntarily extend their enlistments to stay with their unit through a deployment.

DEIP payments will not be offered to soldiers in units that arrive in Afghanistan on June 1, 2013, or later.

This means no DEIP contracts will be executed after Dec. 31.

Information relating to these programs and other deployment-related activities is addressed in a recent Human Resources Command message on policies related to the active Army stop-movement program for units, to include stay-behind detachments at home station, that serve in support of Operation Enduring Freedom.

The Army discontinued stop-loss two years ago but retains stop-movement policies for units that are preparing to deploy, are deployed or are returning from deployment.

The policies are designed to increase personnel readiness by reducing the movement of soldiers in and out of units during the deployment cycle.

Stop-movement polices generally are effective 90 days before the latest arrival date of a unit in Afghanistan, through a 90-day post-deployment phase.

Here are key elements of the stop-movement program:

Enlisted

• Soldiers with approved retirements who will have at least six months of service remaining when their unit arrives in theater may request to amend their retirement date so they can stay with the unit to complete the deployment. Soldiers who do not extend will be returned to home station at least 90 days before retirement to complete transition processing.

• Soldiers with retirement dates less than six months from their unit's deployment arrival date in theater will not deploy unless the unit extends.

• Soldiers with enlistments who will have at least six months remaining in service when their unit arrives in Afghanistan will deploy with the unit.

Soldiers in units that arrive before June 1 will be offered DEIP to extend.

If they do not re-enlist or extend, they will be returned to home station at least 90 days before the end of their enlistments.

• Soldiers with fewer than six months remaining when their unit arrives in Afghanistan will be offered DEIP to extend.

If they do not extend, they will be involuntarily separated if they have at least three, but not more than six, years of service.

Officers

• Officers with approved retirement or separation dates who will have at least six months of service remaining when their unit arrives in theater may request to amend their retirement or separation date so they can stay with the unit to complete the deployment.

Officers who do not extend will be returned to home station at least 90 days before retirement or to separation to complete transition processing.

• Officers with retirement or separation dates that are less than six months from the unit's arrival date in theater will not deploy, and will retire or separate as scheduled.